Underneath the Sycamores
by Paperboxgirl
Summary: Just a drabble featuring Deryn and Alek.
1. Under the Sycamores

She found him underneath the sycamores. Alek had his knees up to his chest, and was staring off into the distance. There was a shattered bottle a few feet away from him, but he didn't seem to notice or care. The hustle and bustle of the city was gone, and it was hard to believe that only a few minutes away was the imposing city of Japan. Alek's back was to her, and he hadn't heard her approaching. Deryn paused a few feet away from him, watching the way the midday sun caught the copper highlights in his hair. She took a tentative half step toward him, and a twig crackled beneath her heavy duty air-service issue boots. She froze.  
>"How did you find me?" Alek asked. Although he had not turned around, he knew without question that it was Deryn.<br>"Newkirk saw you running off. I thought you might come here," Deryn replied as she strode toward him, eliminating the space between them.  
>Settling down next to him in the long, wild grasses, she asked, "What are you doing here Alek? Why did you run off like that?"<br>When the Leviathan had reached Japan, Captain Rigby had granted all the middy's the day off, and Deryn had convinced him to let Alek out too. The pair had snuck out underneath Volger's nose, and had been enjoying wandering around the streets of Japan. Deryn had paused to look at a store window, and when she turned around Alek was gone. At first she had been petrified, fearing the Germans had captured him, but Newkirk had seen him running away.  
>Ignoring her questions, he replied, voice flat and devoid of emotion, "why didn't you tell me?" the silence in the air was palpable.<br>He swallowed hard, showing some emotion for the first time. "I was your best friend. I trusted you with everything. You couldn't have trusted me too"  
>Deryn's voice was thick with tears when she replied, "Alek, I -" her voice broke halfway through.<br>Alek interrupted her, his demeanor icy, "It doesn't matter anyways. I'll be leaving the ship soon, and then we'll never have to see each other again."  
>Rising to leave, he left her in that field, crying underneath the sycamores, never once looking back.<p> 


	2. Dreams

As Alek stormed back to the Leviathan, his heart was heavy. He couldn't believe his best friend had deceived him like this. He had confided in Dylan - no that couldn't be her real name, he thought, chiding himself on his stupidity. He should have seen it sooner, the signs were all there, he was just too oblivious to recognize them. Or maybe he just hadn't wanted to, unwilling to give up his best and only friend. Anger flashed through him, whether at himself or his former friend he was unsure. But by the time Alek reached the Leviathan, his rage had faded, and now all he wanted was solitude. Alek felt weary and exhausted, craving sleep, his one escape from this messed up life.

He dreamt of Deryn. She was the airman Alek knew, and the pair were on the Leviathan's deck together, laughing at some unknown joke. But before his eyes, "Dylan" turned into Deryn, sharp features softening, hair growing rapidly, curves accentuated in an elegant dress. Her easy smile became cruel and mocking as she taunted him, "Some king you'll be. You could barely even see the truth about me."

Alek awoke, gasping and sweaty, sheets tangled around his legs.

By the time the sun rose, Alek was still in bed, wide awake, staring as if in a trance at the ceiling.


	3. Done with tears

Author's Note: I'm gonna be super busy this week, what with school starting and all, but I'll try to post again soon.

Deryn barely slept at all that night. Somehow having managed to drag herself back to the Leviathan, she had gone immediately to her cabin, and cried herself to sleep. As a result her eyes were red and crusty, and it was obvious what she had been doing. Deryn groaned. On top of everything else, did she really need this too? Maybe she could just pass it off as a bad hangover; the other crew members would surely believe that. Broken and at rock bottom, Deryn had had enough. How dare that dummkopf treat her this way? She had been his friend, regardless of her gender. The more Deryn thought, the more riled up she got. She would show him all right. Aleksander Ferdinand had better watch out, because he was about to collide with a woman the likes of which this world had never seen.


	4. Wonderment

Hey All! Sorry for the delay, I've been super busy lately with school, but I'll try to post more soon, and I hope this long one makes up for the wait.

Deryn stormed down the Leviathan's corridor, heavy boots thundering. Her rage was senseless, and she was barely aware of her surroundings, focused on only one thing. Her hair was flying everywhere, and normally pretty blue eyes were clouded over with rage, pupils almost black. "YOU!" She roared, throwing open the door to Alek's cabin, not bothering with any niceties. The door hit the wall behind it and rebounded, but Deryn was already inside. Alek was standing next to the window, gazing out senselessly, but he had looked up with alarm and a tinge of fear and uncertainty when Deryn had burst in. He stood there, just blinking at her, mouth half open, too shocked to respond, but Deryn had no shortage of things to say. She stomped over to him, face red with pure, undiluted rage. Breathing hard, she stopped a few feet away from him, and opened her mouth, prepared to launch into what was sure to be a long and incoherent rant, but Alek interrupted her.

"Dylan-",

"It's Deryn, you barking ninny, not that you bothered to ask! How dare you treat me that way? You're so far from who I thought you were, turns out you're just another misogynistic, egotistical, dumkofp! You had no right to treat me like that, what makes you think that you're any better than me?" She stopped, panting, and waited for his response.

"Umm…." Alek was stuttering, looking lost and confused, like an adorable puppy. No! She scolded herself mentally, reiterating that Alek was most certainly _not _her friend, and any feelings of well being toward him were completely undeserved. He was still stammering, saying now, "I don't know how to say it…."

"Say what!" She barked, trying to muster as much anger and despise into the two words as possible.  
>"I'm..." Oh bloody hell, he was crying. It was so very hard to stay mad at someone crying, and Alek had always been her weak spot. He was gazing at her again, once more reminding her of a lost puppy, vulnerable and confused, and oh god how it made her heart flip-flop madly. His intense gaze frightened her, but at the same time she wanted nothing more than for him to never stop looking at her like that. Almost unconsciously she took a half step towards him, then another, and another, not stopping until they were almost touching. And then she was leaning in, and he was too, and they met in the middle, lips grazing uncertainly and hesitantly. She leaned in to deepen the kiss, and so she did, and he was kissing her back ferociously...but then he drew back. She stared at him in wonderment, wondering why in the hell he'd broken it off.<p>

"I think you should leave now." She sucked in a breath, her heart breaking into a million shards.  
>"Go. Now" His words were cold, all the tenderness and vulnerability gone, replaced by the same emotionless monster she'd first seen in that field outisde of Japan. Tears welled up in her eyes, and before he could see her cry, she was gone.<p> 


	5. Was This How My Father Felt?

Alek was gazing out the window, his scrutiny focused on the passing clouds, but what was really occupying his thoughts was "Dylan". A sudden loud crash shocked him out of his reverie, and in the doorway there was the object of his thoughts, the middy herself. She was standing in the middle of the doorway, stance wide, fist clenched, looking every bit as terrifying as Alek could imagine.

"YOU!" she screamed, clomping over to him. Still surprised and a little bit afraid, Alek remained silent, his brain not quite processing what was happening. She looked like she was gearing up for a long-winded speech, but he spoke before she could.

"Dylan-" she cut him off, apparently not caring what he had to say.

"It's Deryn, you barking ninny, not that you bothered to ask! How dare you treat me that way?" She continued on, but Alek was lost, eyes drawn to the shape her lips made as she ranted on, her delicate frame, wild hair going in every direction. He realized she had stopped yelling, and was now staring at him expectantly, eyes drilled into his.

"Umm….." Alek stammered on nervously. He had absolutely no idea what the hell she had been saying, not to mention what to say now.

"I…..." He trailed off once more, for he was lost again, staring off into her clear blue eyes, a perfect hue, the exact color of the sky outside. He was distantly aware of her waiting expectantly for an answer, but he didn't have anything to say…..no that wasn't true he could of said any one of the half-formed thoughts running through his mind, but to put his thoughts to words right now seemed like a herculean effort, and he would have no idea how to say it. He realized belatedly that he had spoken out loud, murmuring the words,

"I don't know how to say it….."

"Say, what!" Deryn barked, but this time her anger seemed forced, like it was an effort to stay mad at him.

Alek balked, and much to his embarrassment, tears filled his bright green eyes. "I..." He tried to speak again, but found he couldn't. No. This couldn't be happening to him here, and expecially not in front of _her. _Deryn. He felt as if things had changed now that he knew her real name. Deryn. And what a pretty name, too. Pretty name for a pretty girl. Made him want to- no. Her smiling face filled Alek's mind, though she was far from smiling right now, glaring at him with a venom he would never have expected to be focused at him. He felt oddly guilty suddenly, like he had done something shameful and despicable. No wonder she was looking at him like that. But no- she wasn't glaring anymore. Instead she was gazing into his eyes, confusion and hurt there. Hurt that mirrored his own. He suddenly understood how she must feel, of course she couldn't have told him, look how he'd reacted once he'd found out. She hadn't done anything wrong, it was Alek, all him. All his fault.

"I'm..." he started up again, but paused, not for lack of words, but for the fact that he suddenly realized just how close they were standing. He could see her tear stained cheeks, every eye lash wet and defined. He could see the rise and fall of her chest, and the even pouding of her heartbeat... how could he have been so blind? All he would have had to do would look at her... he'd done that so many times before...but this time it was irrevocably changed. Before he knew what he was doing, he had leaned forward and was meeting her lips with his own...and they were kissing. He was kissing her. She was kissing him, and it was bliss, pure joy had filled Alek's heart, and the kiss was deepened...Was this how my father felt? That thought turned his blood cold. He drew back, and it was over as sudddenly as it had begun.

"I think you should leave now." The words escaped him before he could think, and he would have given anything in the world to take them back. She stared at him, more confused than ever, not comprehending, face still flushed. He had chosen his fate. There was no going back.  
>"Go. Now." He mustered as much ice into the words as he could, and it worked. Her face crumpled, and she spun on her heel.<br>"Before I change my mind..." Deryn never heard his barely whispered words, already long gone.


End file.
